Thomas i



(No Model.) T. D. OSBORNE.-

GAR BRAKE.

No. 455,927. Patented July 14, 1891.

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS D. OSBORNE, OF FREEPOR'I, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO.

PETER CARROLL, OFSAME PLACE.

c A R B RA K E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 455,927, dated July 14,1891;

' Application filed January 22, 18 9l- Serial No. 378,680. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS D. OSBORNE, a resident of Freeport, in thecounty of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Car- Brakes; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in car-brakes, and moreparticularly to improvements in the means for suspending the same, theobject of the invention being to provide means for so suspending thebrake-shoe that it shall at all times ofifer a more or less yieldingresistance to the upward or downward pressure brought to bear upon itthrough its friction with the Wheel-rim.

The invention is fully described and explained in this specification,and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a portion of a car-body supported upon wheels and havingbrakes provided with my improved suspension device. Fig. 2 is anelevation show- ,ing the suspension device in detail, the view being inthe direction indicated by the arrow (1., Fig. 1; and Fig.3 is a centralvertical section of the suspension device, the plane of section beingpassed through the line 0000, Fig. 2.

In the views, A A are car-wheels of any ordinary construction, and B isthe sill of a carbody resting upon a truck-frame C, which is supportedby the axles of the wheels.

D D are transverse timbers bolted to the sills, and E E are brake-shoes,of any desired construction, suspended from the cross-timbers D D bymeans of suspension devices G, each of which is pivoted at its upper endto the corresponding timber D by means of a clasp or staple f, and ispivoted at its lower end to the brake-shoe or an attachment thereof bymeans of a second staple f.

In the suspension device, which is shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3, G Gare the two parallel legs of a bar bent into yoke shape, the centralpart g of the bar being in engagement with the loop f upon thecorresponding timber D and the lower ends of the two legs beingscrew-threaded to receive the nuts N N.

ment of the cross-bar H being limited by the nuts N N and the upwardmovement of the cross-bar l-l being limited by stops S S upon the legs GG. A central draw-rod I lies midway between the legs G G of the yoke andextends above the upper cross-bar H andbelow the lower cross-bar H. Theupper end of the draw-rod is screw-threaded to receive the nut N, andthe lower end is provided with an integrally -formed stirrup having atits lower end a horizontal rod 1', which engages the loop or staple f onthe corresponding brake shoe. A spring 8 encircles the draw-rod I andlies between and presses apart the cross-bars H H, the'tendency of theforce of this spring being to hold the two crossbars H H at their limitsof motion, the upper in contact with the shoulders S S and the lower incontactwith-the nuts N N. A shoulder S is formed on the draw-rod belowthe cross-bar H, and by means of the nuts N N the working-space on thedraw-rod and the legs G G may be so regulated that when the twocross-bars H H are at their limits of motion the nut N and the shoulderS on the draw-rod shall be in contact with the two cross-bars H II,respectively. Each of the brake-shoes being suspended from the corresponding cross-beam D by means of the spring link or connection justdescribed, it is evident that this link must bear any upward or downwardstrain put upon the brake-shoe by reason of its friction withthewheel-rim, and that the cross-bar I-I must be drawn downward or thecross-bar H pressed upward by such force, accordingly as the shoe isdrawn downward or pressed upward. Thus if the wheels A A turn in thedirection indicated by the arrows thereon in Fig. l, the brakeshoe Ewhen pressed upon the wheel-rim must be drawn downward and thebrakeshoeE correspondingly pressed upward by means of the force exertedupon the shoes by the wheels, respectively, and it is evident that inthe spring-link which supports the brake-shoe E the upward thrust of thebrakeshoe must thrust upward the draw-rod I and with it the cross-bar H,thus compressing the ICC spring from below, whereas the downwardpressure upon the brake-shoe E must draw downward the corresponding rodI and the cross-bar H and compress the spring from above. In either casethe spring and its connection forms a yielding resistance to the upwardor downward movement of the brakeshoe, and I have found from actualexperiment that so long as the brake-shoe when pressed upward or drawndownward by the friction of the wheel meets no unyielding resistance itwill not absolutely set the wheel and thus'slide it upon the rail. Thedanger of rigidly setting the wheel and sliding it upon the rail and theresulting wear upon the Wheel-rim are well. known to every prac ticalrailroad man, and the value of any simple expedient which willeffectually obviate this difficulty is self-evident.

I have found that under all ordinary circumstances the spring-link shownand described herein, or any construction having substantially the sameeffect'viz., that of offering a yielding resistance to the upward anddownward movement of the brake-shoewill effectually prevent the slidingof the wheel upon the rail, and will thereby save a vast amount of wear.

As'shown in Fig. 2, the drawrod I is encircled by a single spring 3,while in Fig. 3 a second spring .5" is shown lying within the first andsupplementing the force thereof. Either of these forms is simple andpractical and may be used, if desired, or any other known and convenientform of compressionspring may be substituted for those shown anddescribed, the object of the spring being simply to press apart itsbearing-points and offer a resistance to the movement of the draw-rod ineither direction.

Any form of mechanism for pressing the brake-shoes upon the wheel-rimsmaybe employed, and such mechanism constitutes no part of thisinvention.

In order to prevent the possibility of reverse rotation of the nuts andconsequent loss of tension on the spring when in opera tion, I havefound it advisable to provide some suitable means for securing the nutsagainst accidental rotation. A very simple device for this purpose isillustrated in Fig. 2, in which 0' r are ribs formed 011 the externalface of the cross-bars H H, these ribs being placed in close proximityto the seats of the nuts when in working position. The inner edges ofthese ribsthat is, the edges nearest the nutsare beveled, in order thatwhen the nuts are turned by means of a Wrench to increase or decreasethe tension of the spring they may be slipped easily over the ribs; butthe bevel is not sufficiently flat to permit accidental movement of thenuts over the ribs when once seated between them.

As shown and described, the brake-shoes are suspended from the body ofthe car, and this construction is the one which will of course be usedin many cases. In a large number of cases, however, the brake-shoes aresuspended from the truck-frames instead of from the body of the car, andI have no intention of limiting my invention by prescribing either oneof these as the necessary point of support of the brake-shoe.

Having now described and explained my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a brake-shoe, of a suspending device made up oftwo parts, the first secured to the car or an attachment thereof and thesecond bearing the brakeshoe and sliding vertically upon the first, anda spring interposed between the two parts and offering yieldingresistance to the motion of the second part in either direction upon thefirst.

2. The combination, with a brake-shoe, of a spring suspension deviceconstructed substantially as shown and described and made up of the yokeG G, the draw-rod I, the crossbars II H, and a suitable springinterposed between said cross-bars and offering a yielding resistance tothe approach of either of said cross-bars to the other, said yoke anddraw-rod being adapted for connection with the brake-shoe, and asuitable support on the car or an attachment thereof, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS T). OSBORNE.

Vitnesses:

R. H. XVInEs, M. STosKorF.

